Guess Who's Coming to Radio??!!

A show with a goal to address the sociopolitical issues pertaining to Afrikan peoples in this country (black people), from a younger person's perspective.

The discussions will be combined with positive and political music of various genres, as composed and performed by a long line of descendants. It will feature book highlights, guests who contribute to pro-activity in their respective communities and an opportunity for the listening community to become involved in conversations, by calling in. Let's liberate our minds through the airwaves!!

Episode Archive

anyone who regularly listens to 'guess who's coming to radio??!!' may be aware that pan-afrikanism is a philosophy we proudly support. the simplest way we can put it is: the health of the mother continent represents the health of the world.

one of the strongest pan-afrikanist voices in portland, oregon is ahjamu umi (anti-foreclosure/pro-community activist and member of the all African people's revolutionary party).

you may have already heard our dear brother KAMAL SHAW, if you listened to us during this recent fall membership drive. we enjoyed him so much that we wanted to bring him on again, to spend more time with his mind. we also wanted to give you an opportunity to engage with him, in particularly if you heard him last time and did not have a chance to ask a question or give a comment.

we are using radio as an opportunity to show the range of our experiences, and surely, kamal is proof that the 'monolith' title needs to be done away with.

a few weeks back during the fall membership drive (thank you for contributing!) we aired a portion of a conversation we had with andy allo- this evening, in honor of her performance at the camilia lounge on the 15th of this month, we will be airing much more of this conversation! (the full conversation will also be on this site right after the show). andy is currently a member of the new power generation (headed by prince); however she's an artist in her own right, recently releasing a second album, entitled 'superconductor'. for more information check out http://alloevolution.com.

we are still in the midst of our fall membership drive (and we want to thank you immensely for your sustaining support!), and we are continuing the mood, 'guess who's coming to radio??!!' style! we're encouraging you to dance, as we play the originals to those songs you hear portions of these days, via samples and interpolations in hip hop, rock, and even jazz... some of these songs may take you back, some of them may even surprise you, when you make the connections! we're going to be on until midnight, so we're gonna bring you a good time, through the airwaves!

We have a VERY packed show for you- something we are really excited about!!!
We will be featuring an interview with ANDY ALLO, a current member of the new power generation... Yes, THAT new power generation. Allo, a contributing member of the group, says of Prince (the longtime leader of the NPG): "Collaborating with Prince was such a blessing. He created an environment that was open to any and all ideas. It was really exciting to bring him an acoustic song, which is how most of my songs began, and to see him turn them into these epic masterpieces".
Allo (who is from cameroon) has, from albums such as 'unfresh' to 'superconductor' produced sounds which shift from 'folky to funky', and even then it's difficult to pin down.

the 29th of august is a day we at 'guess who's coming to radio??!!' celebrate annually as the day of teacher MICHAEL JACKSON; even though we do our annual radio celebration it's never on the day he came to this earth, so this will be the first time we'll actually be celebrating with you! from 7 PM to MIDNIGHT we will be honoring his gifts- primarily, the words and music. what makes this day even more special is that JENNIFER BATTEN will be celebrating with us, live and direct! ms.

as most people who listen to us at 'guess who's coming to radio??!!' know, we do our best to keep it positive, and present solutions to issues facing us in this day and age. people and situations keep working to stray us away from that- but we are on a mission to speak AND ACT TRUTH to the assumed powers. those who are in these positions continuously utilize media and the 'educational' instutions to maintain war- between generations, between sexes, between cultures... we have to work harder to expose this emotional, intellectual and spiritual dysfunction.

anyone who has been with us for some time at 'guess who's coming to radio??!!' knows that august is the month where we honor teacher michael jackson on the air... while we do that we are ALSO taking what we do outside, in collaboration with the clinton street theater. clinton street has been doing 'KBOO@ the clinton' every second thursday of the month, and now it is our turn! while we won't be on the air this week, you can see us in action and meet us at the theater- NOW IS YOUR CHANCE to ask any in-depth questions about the teacher, or other subjects you've been itching to discuss...

Audio

we spoke with andy allo, currently a member of the new power generation (headed by prince); however, she has recently released a second album, entitled 'superconductor'. for more information check out http://alloevolution.com. we thoroughly enjoyed our conversation with her (which was about everything from the nature of true learning, hair, music and consciousness, and more), and we hope you will as well.

we had a chance to speak with leni stern, who will be in portland at the camilia lounge on the 1st of november, 2013. ms. stern is currently a resident of new york city, by way of munich, germany. her music is inspired by the mother continent so much that she made a life-changing decision to travel there, and ended up working with the great elders, such as salif keita and baba maal.

"Five consecutive wins of Gibson’s Female Jazz Guitarist of the Year might make anyone hunker down and focus on going ‘six for six’. But Leni Stern has always defied expectations, and her diverse, 20-year career in music is a textbook example of growth under a self-imposed fire. From the expert instrumentalist, a singer-songwriter emerged, with observations to share from her travels throughout the world. Stern adds: “Why deny the impulse to put words to these experiences? I couldn’t think of a reason.”"

royce lovett will be in portland (at the camilia lounge) on the 2nd of november; we had a chance to briefly speak with him about what inspired him, as well as his life's philosophies.

lovett, who emerges from florida is indeed refreshing amongst a generation and era of people who make music and art playing with negative imagery or a lower consciousness. according to his site (http://roycelovett.com/), he:

"says that his music is all about “letting my beliefs shine through my message and talking about real issues.” In his own words, his goal of his music is to “tap into the intellect and inspire change, because music doesn’t change people. People change people.” Royce says his music conveys a positive, upbeat image that anyone who loves music can appreciate. He writes his own songs and they feature a wide variety of topics, but mostly on love “in all forms, from friendly love, love for your brother, or romantic love.”"

here is the full interview we did with randall sullivan, author of untouchable: the strange life and tragic death of michael jackson. sullivan is also the author of the price of experience and the miracle detective. he was an editor at rolling stone magazine for over 20 years.

how i view michael certainly appears to be different than how mr. sullivan views him (i mean, he is my teacher! everyone who knows me already knows my perspective). however, i cannot take away whatever experience he has had, because it's his. i consider my experience with mr. sullivan to have been quite positive and educational.

i grew up on vinyl since i was in my mother's womb... when i became conscious of what the physical format of vinyl actually was, i recognized that this medium which stored sounds was a healing mechanism- it was used to calm the soul after a fight, or just to recapture memories.

i used to purchase music on my own all the time, but it wasn't until i was 15 years old when i truly started seriously COLLECTING vinyl. some time after this initial point my first musical teacher (after my mother) was a man named pat. longo; he was quite patient with me as i sat wide-eyed and eager, simply listening to him share information and histories of different record labels. he'd wax poetic on the mechanisms of certain producers, arrangers and artists. it was the first time i had actually heard someone speak in depth about the SCIENCE of music- i was hooked for life. he'd put that needle on the first track and INSTANTLY knew what i liked. the shop he worked at (owned by the inimitable robert cohen), finyl vinyl, was filled with internationally known producers and DJs, as well as long-time music enthusiasts. i will always love and honor him for teaching me and making me feel welcome in this world- and we are still friends today, after almost 20 years.

in 2009, pat. was featured in a site called called dust and grooves, dedicated to featuring vinyl enthusiasts and collectors. he introduced me to the 'curator' of the site, eilon paz, who has started a kickstarter page to raise money for a book he is self-publishing. paz describes himself as having:

"moved to Brooklyn, NY in 2008 after having a successful career as a photographer in Israel. I decided to move to NY to evolve, expand, and progress as a professional photographer. As a working photographer, I was always on the look out for personal projects to nourish my creativity, and since I’m primarily a portrait photographer, I was looking for a subject matter that will fulfill my passion for photography and music. I was always collecting records, but back home it was very limited. When I arrived to NY suddenly the sky was the limit. People were digging for vinyl records everywhere. It suddenly made sense that there is a whole scene here that could and should be documented. This gave me a whole new inspiration for a personal project."

as a person who is a collector of vinyl (who is obsessed with looking at others' collections), as well as a person who has majored in photograhy (i studied under the great jazz photographer roy decarava); paz' project is something which intrigues me. it was definitely a pleasure to speak with him, as it's easy to feel the passion in which he feels for his work.

take a listen, watch and enjoy. and check out what the kickstarter project (which ends 10 august 1012) entails, as well as paz' dust and grooves site.

i have had another fortunate experience to have experienced another- i'll just say it- student of michael... it's a very lonely place out there for people who are truly serious about studying the teacher. even though my focus has more to do with michael OUTSIDE of performance; whenever i see others who have a keen intrerest in what the teachings mean, i feel compelled to contact them.

moses harper is such a person. when i saw her dancing (she won the apollo over, and if you know anything about the apollo, then you know that it's a tough crowd), i saw there was an element to her that i rarely, if ever, see in others who dedicate their lives to 'michaeldance'- she put HERSELF in it. with that, i knew there was more to her than just michael. you see, to be a student of michael, it's important to be a well-rounded person. i say this because the teachings go far beyond michael's physical casing. he just happened to be here on earth, and was one of the few who truly embodied the teachings. we all have the ability to, but many of us are scared.

what are the teachings? moses and i discuss some of the elements of the teachings... the basis of our conversation has to do with michael; we also speak on sociopolitical issues, art and culture.

who is moses harper? moses has dedicated her life to the teachings, not only through dance, but through speaking engagements, working with the youth, poetry, hip hop and film production and direction. she has a BA in music (majoring in studio composition) from SUNY purchase; and is involved with 'thrill the world NYC' (you know, the event had all around the world annually, where thousands of people do the 'thriller' dance all at once). she is the director of a film called 'love fit to box', a story following a journey of two siblings: a brother and a sister (who has made the decision to tell her family she was gay). the brother looks within himself to see things from his sister's perspective.

he decided to look at 'the man in the mirror'. you see? the teachings are everywhere.

for more information on moses harper, or to contact her, you can find her here:

i first saw this incredibly beautiful woman on youtube, speaking of health, inside and out, and connecting it with the womb. nubia sutton was her name, and instantly i felt compelled to connect with her. how often does one feel compelled to connect with someone they see on a video? i don't know the answer to that (besides energy); i know for me, it is very rare. i am completely fortunate that i did make that decision to make the steps to reach her. when we spoke, immediately we connected- not only due to our both growing up in brooklyn, new york; but also in our desire to seek truth through learning and sharing information and pro-activity.

in this conversation we speak on herbs and medicines, self-healing, food/diet, spirituality and religion, connection to the ancestors, hair, and more!

we spoke with alicia jackson and ahjamu umi on the 'foreclosure movement' in portland, oregon, particularly as it pertains to afrikan/black people... what are some pro-active steps to take regarding this issue?

you were there (live at sammy6 davis jr.'s 60th anniversary programme)

jackson 5

let it be (portion, live)

michael jackson and paul mc cartney

the man

pipes of peace

columbia

michael jackson

someone in the dark

E.T. storybook

MCA

jackson 5

killing me softly (live)

michael jackson

scared of the moon

ultimate collection

epic/sony

michael jackson

carosel

thriller (2001 special edition)

epic

the simpsons

do the bartman (instrumental loop)

7"

geffen

michael jackson

bad (false fade mix)

12"

epic

jackson 5

get it together (4 hero remix)

soul source: jackson 5 remixes

universal/polygram

michael jackson

don't stop till you get enough (jamilah's quick mix)

original album: off the wall

epic

jackson 5

dancing machine (monseiur greg remix)

jackson 5

dancing machine (elias damian remix)

michael jackson

billie jean medley

original album: thriller

epic

the jacksons

your ways

triumph

epic

michael jackson

love never felt so good

la toya jackson

nighttime lover (instrumental loop)

original album: la toya jackson

polydor

tonght we honor the life and legacy of teacher and (it's still hard to say) ancestor, michael jackson...

if you have any questions, comments or musings/memories of michael, please contact us here at the 'guess who's coming to radio??!!' page; and if there are enough comments we will create a blog space...

Comments

Hi Jamilah,Loved the show tonight - I was really struck by Chris' story and how ridiculously the Portland police handled his situation. It makes me concerned for the future of civic-minded organizations like Copwatch and NoPo Cop Stop which exist to do exactly what Chris was doing - observe & record police conduct and provide that record as a defense to the people who police accuse of wrongdoing.

Would it be possible for KBOO to post tonight's show or, at least, the fifteen minutes that Chris spoke about his encounter with Portland police on your webpage or myspace page? I would be very interested to listen to it again and pass it along to my friends at Copwatch, if that is okay. I believe the segment ranged between 8:45 pm - 9:00 pm. Please feel free to e-mail me with a response - it would be great to hear from you. Thank you very much for your help, and keep up the excellent work!

Hey I love motown and motown history and it is sorta at the top of my list of interests right now, so if I wanted to offer some insight into your upcoming program, what is the protocol? Is there any way to get involved?

yes, i am actually planning to do another show on motown; i didn't get to fit everything i wanted to fit into the show... my plan is to do something in april. i would like to go more in depth about what i was touching on in the last show... is it possible for a 'person of colour' to be successful in america and not sacrifice or compromise their beliefs? i want to do more in-depth conversations/interviews about that.

i am constantly welcoming people to get involved and have some input for the show, so that is wonderful that you are interested!!! what sorts of things were you thinking about?